Ukraine says Starshield limits persist as US officials trade blame

Ukraine says restrictions on satellite communications are still disrupting military drone operations, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that access has been restored and intensifying a dispute over who authorised the changes.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday, 23 October, that Ukrainian forces continued to encounter limits affecting Starlink and Starshield, the SpaceX services used for battlefield communications and drone operations. His account challenged assurances from Washington that the problem had been resolved, while US lawmakers pressed for an investigation into decisions affecting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.

The dispute has exposed conflicting explanations from the White House, the Pentagon and SpaceX chief Elon Musk. Trump has denied ordering the restrictions and defended Musk. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have pointed towards the company’s control over its services. Musk, meanwhile, has said decisions governing Starshield rest with the US government.

For Ukrainian commanders, the consequences extend beyond the disagreement in Washington. The reported restrictions affect whether satellite terminals remain connected while travelling at high speeds, limiting the performance of drones used in combat and air defence.

ArmyInform, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s information agency, reported on Friday that ministry sources were still recording connection losses when unmanned systems reached about 161 kilometres per hour, equivalent to 100 miles per hour. Specialists were continuing to monitor performance, with no confirmation that the restrictions had been lifted.

Presidential defence technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said isolated instances of terminals working above the threshold did not establish that normal service had returned. He suggested those exceptions could reflect SpaceX’s operating algorithms or particular conditions of use.

Ukrainian officials have reported lost drones and disrupted missions since the restrictions emerged in mid-October. Satellite connectivity supports communications between operators and unmanned systems, making the ability to maintain a connection during flight an operational requirement. Reuters reported that the restrictions complicated strikes against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory and slowed drones used to intercept incoming Russian Shahed aircraft.

Zelenskyy has sought an explanation and a timetable for restoring access through direct conversations with US officials and appeals to Congress.

During a briefing with a bipartisan group of American lawmakers on Monday, he said restrictions remained across different parts of the front and that Ukraine had received inconsistent explanations. He described the changes as “a planned operation”, reflecting Kyiv’s view that the disruption was deliberate.

Zelenskyy subsequently said Rubio had told him that service would be restored within 48 to 72 hours. By Friday’s remote appearance at the Hudson Institute in Washington, however, he said repeated Ukrainian checks continued to show the same speed limit.

An official Ukrainian account confirms that Zelenskyy and Rubio spoke on 20 October about restoring Starlink and Starshield, alongside early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks and supplies of interceptor missiles. The two agreed to remain in contact for an update.

Trump’s public comments have shifted between denying involvement, questioning whether Musk was responsible and declaring that the restrictions had been reversed.

Asked last week about the disruption, he said: “It wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon.”

On Thursday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had agreed to remove restrictions, Trump said the service had been restored. He declined to confirm whether he had personally intervened.

“You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference,” Trump told reporters. “I guess the bottom line, he put it back.”

On Friday, Trump said he had not heard that difficulties were continuing. Asked who had ordered the restrictions, he replied: “I wouldn’t tell you if I did know.”

He also defended Musk personally, saying he knew him well and regarded him as fair. Those remarks offered reassurance about the SpaceX chief without identifying who had authorised the changes or explaining the continuing Ukrainian reports.

Rubio has delivered a more categorical denial of government involvement.

Speaking to reporters in India on Wednesday, he said neither Trump nor anyone else in the administration had requested changes to the systems. He presented decisions about access as matters for SpaceX and Musk, emphasising that the company was privately operated.

Hegseth adopted a similar position a day earlier, saying the Pentagon had not withdrawn capabilities. He referred to terms of service that users needed to comply with and said Starlink could make decisions under those conditions.

“We haven’t pulled anything back,” Hegseth said.

He did not explain which terms Ukraine might have breached or identify a particular contractual provision behind the restrictions. His comments consequently left unresolved whether the disruption arose from a company decision, a government instruction or some interaction between the two.

Musk has directed questions about Starshield towards Washington.

In a post on X on 14 October, he said Starshield systems were owned and controlled by the US government, adding: “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”

He distinguished that service from commercial Starlink, which he said SpaceX owned and controlled. Musk said commercial Starlink use was limited to civilian or defensive activities and could not be used for offensive military action.

Starshield was developed for government and national security customers and uses Starlink infrastructure. The dispute over Ukraine’s access has brought the allocation of authority between the provider and its government customers under scrutiny.

Vice President JD Vance framed the issue in terms of US policy when questioned in Cincinnati on Thursday.

Vance said it was understandable that Musk would not want his private company caught between two countries at war without direction from the US government. He argued that the underlying question concerned America’s approach to Ukraine and Russia.

His remarks did not identify a specific instruction or establish who approved the restrictions. They did, however, place government policy at the centre of a dispute that Rubio and Hegseth had described largely in terms of decisions available to a private provider.

Reporting about the decision has also pointed in different directions.

Reuters reported on 16 October, citing two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, that an instruction to limit Ukraine’s Starshield service originated inside the White House. Its sources did not identify the decision-maker or who implemented the change. A senior US official denied that Trump had made such a request.

CBS News subsequently reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Musk decided to impose restrictions after conversations with administration officials.

The disruption has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about both Ukraine’s immediate defence needs and the government’s dependence on commercial communications systems.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, the senior Democrat on the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced an inquiry on 22 October. He is seeking to establish whether the White House, Pentagon or SpaceX directed the restrictions, and whether the military has adequate alternatives when services supplied by the company become unavailable.

His questions to SpaceX seek a detailed account of restrictions imposed between 10 and 15 October, including when they began, how long they lasted and who participated in or was notified of each decision.

The inquiry also asks who can activate, restrict or shut down Starshield under government contracts; whether SpaceX can technically change service without Pentagon authorisation; and whether Ukraine received advance notice. Blumenthal has requested records of decisions and communications concerning the restrictions.

Those requests address separate stages in the process: deciding that access should change, communicating that decision and carrying it out through the network. Establishing responsibility requires clarity about each stage.

Calls for scrutiny extend beyond Blumenthal. Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick has supported an investigation, while Democratic senators have called for Musk to testify or explain the decision.

Separately, a bipartisan group of 23 House members led by Republican Representative Joe Wilson urged Trump to secure broader access allowing Ukraine to target Russian missile-launch sites. Their appeal argued that Ukraine needed the ability to strike the systems launching attacks on its cities.

Ukraine is also pursuing additional communications partnerships. At a Ukrainian-Finnish business forum, its Defence Ministry signed a letter of intent with Nokia Defense and ICEYE covering space cooperation and the development of satellite communications capabilities.

The agreement provides a framework for further work. The announcement did not identify an immediately available replacement for the services Ukrainian forces currently use.

The urgency is increasing as Ukraine prepares for winter while defending energy facilities and cities against Russian attacks. In Friday’s Hudson Institute discussion, Zelenskyy said the satellite restrictions were making frontline operations and logistics harder. He also reported delays in previously agreed deliveries of missiles used to intercept ballistic attacks.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were continuing to hold positions and maintain logistics, while urging partners to prioritise energy support and air defence supplies.

Blumenthal has requested written answers by 5 November and a briefing from SpaceX officials familiar with the restrictions by 12 November. His inquiry currently relies on requests for information because, as a member of the Senate minority, he lacks the power to issue subpoenas independently. The Pentagon told Reuters it would respond directly to the lawmakers who sent the correspondence.